gpa speed air or gpa titium, pro's cons pls??

[Vicki1986]

am looking to splash out on an a new hat soon, a speed air is scarily expensive however this is the only time ever i would be able to afford anything like it as have got a little inheritance coming so am thinking of spoling myself as using the rest ot pay boring bills !!!

i get a very hot head so the vents idea appeals to me.

any pro's and cons appreciated or opinions

thanks!

 

[sherwood']

go on ebay i jsut bought a speed air for 112!!!!!! amazing- they r the newsest ones- dont buy the titanium as they r about 3 yrs old now!

 

[Vicki1986]

thats where ive been looking too!!! sod buying one in a shop they cost and arm and a leg!!! good old ebay

 

[sherwood']

there r loads on tho- so dont pay too much! i got a lovely grey and silver one last nite for that price- some go for up to about 150 but no need to pay that much! i love ebay for horsey things! Imagine paying nearly 300 for one in the shops- that wud kill me!!!!

 

[Vicki1986]

me too i buy and sell on ebay every week im terrible now when i go shopping i wonder how much cheaper i could get it on there!! thanks i will keep looking on there, i wont get my money through for a few weeks so i will bide my time for a bargain!

 

[sillygillyhorse]

Never worn the speed air as have the titium. Find mine very comfortable and does keep me cooler.

Depends if you compete and where and what safety standard the hat carries. If it still only carries the EN number then you will not be able to wear it for the jumping phases of BE, dont think you will be able to use it at any PC events either as they must carry the Kitemark.

Suggest that you check the safety standard and the rule books of any clubs etc you may compete at to make sure you can wear the speed air. Would be awful to spend all the money and not be able to use it to compete.

 

[Vicki1986]

good point will do, thanks - although i only compete at little local shows so shouldnt be a problem but i did just presume it would be fully safety standard'ed for all disciplines.

 

[sillygillyhorse]

If it is a local show running under Riding Club rules you may need to be careful, not sure if they are acceptable as they never used to carry the Kitemark.

It can all be quite confusing, I used to be able to use mine for BE but now the only rules that seem to allow it are the BSJA. If you decide on the Titium design go for the Champion version as that is definitely up to all safety standards and permissable under all the different rules as it is carries the PAS mark - it is also much cheaper than the GPA.

 

[samp]

I second getting a Champion one, I have a GPA but read recently that they are the most unsafe hats when tested recently

 

[MagicMelon]

I bought the GPA Extreme (has rubbery coating to it so very pratical - I found the velvety stuff on my old Titium would crease up when it got wet which this cant!). Lovely hat, REALLY lightweight (lighter than my Titium) and very cool to wear. I got my Extreme for a bargain off Ebay for only £70 brand new! You dont see them that often though so I think I was quite lucky.

Cant say Ive used the speed air one - personally I dont like the look of it. I think people who wear them look like bugs with big bug eyes!

Kitemark-wise, it depends on if the hat was made in the USA or Europe apparently. I tried to have my Titium tagged by BE but they refused, but they were happy to tag my Extreme! Cant remember which is acceptable, I *think* it was the American version which I thought was odd as I would have assumed it was the European one. Ive had no problems using it for BSJA or RC though since they never check anyway for SJ.

They are safe IMO. They all have to reach the same standards to even get the kitemark. Everybody moans that GPA's are unsafe but saying that I saw my Charles Owen J3 which I use for XC wasnt good at all in the tests especially failing in the "crush" test - well thats REALLY nice to know!!